Friday, October 18, 2013

Wrecking Coron, Palawan

Hi from the Philippines! I'm sorry for not updating more often but Internet has been a rare commodity in the last week and a half. On October 10, Krista and I flew from Bali to Manila to meet Lara, Wyatt, Emma, Leah, and Andrea. Together we went to Boracay and Palawan.

Boracay is a small island that is practically all beach, but we arrived during a typhoon so weren't able to dive and take full advantage. The snorkeling was great - lots of health corals and fish, eels and razor shrimp fish. We also saw a fire show one night and generally relaxed. It was quite the island paradise! Lara visited Boracay 5 years ago and was surprised by how much more developed it is now, and I can only imagine how much more crowded it will be in a few more years...

Then we were off to Palawan and DIVING!! It's one of the top spots in the world for wreck diving and after 6 dives, I can see why - there are 10-11 Japanese ships from WWII that were sunk from 42 meters deep to the surface (all shallower than around 140 feet, within recreational dive limits). They are SPECTACULAR. The shops are still in great condition and have huge passageways that are dive able and take you into the heart of the engine rooms, decks, and more. These photos aren't great because we used a GoPro and have to take stills from the videos to get really high quality, but you can imagine how incredible it felt to dive through these husks of amazing war ships. WOWWW!! They are also hosts to very healthy corals and that's very cool as well :)

We also spent the day at the most beautiful beach in the world! Well that's my judgement anyways - the sand was pure white and there was great snorkeling just a 2 minute kick offshore. We also had some amazing grilled fish. I don't eat much seafood anymore but this was done island-style and was delicious!

Krista and I are heading to Puerto Galera soon to do more diving before we go to Hong Kong. Sadly, everyone else is heading back to the States in the next two days so we'll be flying solo... It's been a whirlwind Philippines trip and it was so fun to see some of my CA friends before I go home. It's helping to ease the transition a bit and I'm getting excited for the next two weeks and then heading back to California!